Panda with Cookie

It only happens at Vida Vegan Con: We put out the call. We read the submissions. We talked. We made spreadsheets. We talked some more. You simply cannot imagine how hard it was for us to narrow down our speaker lineup. Such amazing talent. Such fantastic voices. So much feedback to consider. Seriously, why can’t Vida Vegan Con be a week long?!

But we’ve done it, and now we are so excited to share it with you! Each week, we’ve been featuring a handful of speakers, with a teaser of what sort of expertise they’ll be sharing with you (and that’s on top of the class topics sneak peek we shared earlier this summer).

As in past years, we’ve curated this lineup of activists, authors, experts, and other leaders in their fields to share with you their skills, their unique voices, and their ability to inspire. We’ll debut the official conference agenda in early 2015.

So here they are, in randomly random order, your fifth set of Vida Vegan Con III speakers (and there’s still a bit more to come!):

Terry Hope Romero,Vegan Latina Terry Hope Romero is the bestselling author of Vegan Eats World, Viva Vegan!, co-author of Veganomicon, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, and most recently, revitalized an entire freaking course with her latest book, Salad Samurai. The Queens-based superstar joins us for her third VVC experience to discuss everything you need to know about the world of crowdfunding and Kickstarter-dom. Terry’s also one of three featured chefs on the series Vegan Mashup, which super successfully used the platform to launch their first and second season (airing now on public television!). We’ll have way more to come from Terry at VVC2015, so stay tuned for big news!

Jojo Huxster, vegan.in.brighton More likely recognized as the delightful presence behind the blog “Vegan in Brighton”, Jojo Huxster joins us from the UK, via recent travels in Austria, Japan, and one of her favorite cities in the US, Austin, TX. In addition to her positively infectious and inspiration travel blogging, Jojo runs Operation Icing, her not-for-profit bakery, and recently helped organize the 2014 Vegan Month of Food (aka VeganMoFo). She describes herself as animal loving, food obsessed, body positive and a feminist. Appropriately, Jojo, an alumnae of VVC2013, is traveling across the globe to join us all in Austin and talk all about her travel bug + style, including what she’s learned, where’s she’s headed next, and how to thrive as a vegan while exploring the world.

Grant Butler, The Oregonian’s FoodDayHighly respected food writer and longtime journalist, Grant Butler is renowned in-and-outside of the vegan community for his well-received column as a culinary professional who went vegan…and stayed vegan. He joined us in Portland at VVC2011 as a moderator and returned as a popular speaker in 2013 with a talk on writing “Restaurant Reviews with Authority”, which sent tons of attendees on the right path. He’s heading to Austin to discuss bringing fresh ideas to your food writing, a class you seriously won’t want to miss. You can read his continuing columns, including “Going Vegan” and “Table Talk”, on OregonLive.com.

Lisa “Panda” Coulson, Panda with CookieAn artist by day and biscuit maker by night, Lisa is admired throughout the vegan community (and most importantly, the internet) by the moniker “Panda with Cookie”, the namesake of her online and touring store, where she sells her handcrafted plush and baby attire. Her familiarity with the vegan world and craft world have made her an expert community organizer. No stranger to VVC, as one of our favorite past exhibitors and all-around super helpful friend, Lisa joins us on the lineup for VVC2015 to combine her DIY and community expertise to discuss just that, DIY Event Organizing. Also pictured: George.

Get ready: Vida Vegan Con returns this May!

From Bryant Terry to Ginny Messina, Jill Pyle of Vegan Cuts, The Sexy Vegan and 14 others all-stars, check out the rest of the lineup reveals:

First up in our series of personalized Portland Picks is the one-and-only Panda with Cookie, aka Lisa Coulson. These recommendations are from trusty Portland vegan locals and lovers, and we bet all our attendees, whether you’re arriving early or not, want to squeeze a little time outside of the busy, busy conference wandering in our vegan wonderland. Let’s find out Lisa’s Portland-musts below…

1. Mt. Tabor. Lovely place for a stroll and a beautiful neighborhood in the spring.

SW Waterfront. Image source: Visions2200.com

2. Downtown waterfront. An excellent location for a bike ride next to the river. Roll down the Springwater trail to check out the feral cat feeding stations and the twin fluffy black cats there on occasion.

3. Portland Farmers Market, Saturdays at PSU. I love me some farmers markets and there’s a good number of vegan options aside from the usual piles of produce.

2. Dove Vivi. Cornmeal crust pizza with roasted corn and homemade cashew cheese. Add the smoked tomatoes. Can I get a hallelujah for a place that still does their own cheese instead of using a packaged one?